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Monday, November 25, 2013

A...Mystery...We...May...(choose to)...Ignore

Another year has almost passed. All passing's
must be celebrated for healthy living. That is why at this time we are in the
midst of celebrating the ending of The Liturgical year. In the liturgical year,
we take 365 days to reflect on the gift that comes to us in every moment, and
nanosecond we are privileged to live. As we think of a second, or any given
moment it is so sudden that we blink and it is gone. No big deal! How wrong we
are. In each and every moment, every nanosecond, The Infinite, The Unknown, The
Unknowable, is perfectly hidden and revealed. We can take each moment for
granted and look to a future event to give us what is present, in this present
moment. In this now moment comes to me all that I need. Many times because the
"now moment" is not giving me what I want, I just blow it off and
turn my attention to something else. I am even expecting that "something else,
or somewhere else" to give me that which will never bring me peace, or happiness.
As it was, so it is, and ever shall be. The Liturgical year's liturgical
celebrations as it were, takes the mystery hidden and revealed in each
sacramental moment, and does what with it? It extends, stretches the moment,
through minutes, days, and weeks so are afforded the opportunity to not only
look at, but be lead to see the ever newness of The Mystery, God. No two seconds,
no two moments are the same. We may think so, but that thinking needs to be
challenged. Without that ongoing challenge we will live a life-less, boring, self-centered,
selfish life. Actually we do not live, we just exist. Then we are driven to
look for a scapegoat to blame. We will want, we will need this scapegoat to
carry the blame rather than take responsibility for our own inaction. "Growth
begins, when blaming ends" (Powell). Darn that!!!
Our Liturgical celebrations, given a chance, afford us the opportunity, and the
means to journey into the mystery of our lives and there, encounter The Presence,
The Mystery within. We are reminded that liturgy is what? (Before you read on,
how do you answer that question? What is your personal understanding of the
action you take part in each time you gather with other members of your faith
community? Your understanding will color, for good or for ill, your
participation in the liturgy.) Liturgy we are now given to understand, and accept,
is "the WORK of the people." It is the whole community gathering
together to honor and worship their God, present in Word, Sacrifice, and Sacrament.
Each is invited, by our reception of the Sacrament of Baptism, to come and
celebrate their individual and collective participation in The Priesthood of Jesus,
The Christ. Liturgy is not about our relationship with Jesus, but with Jesus
The Christ. Jesus The Christ, is the
historical Jesus, Who has journeyed through death, Resurrection, Ascension, and
now through His Spirit dwells not with (The Historical Jesus), but WITHIN each
one of us. The Christ knows, from His lived experience as The Human Being, what
it means to suffer, die, be buried, then rise, and ascend to send His Spirit to
dwell within our depths. Jesus, The Christ, The One Whose Body we are called to
be, and Whose priesthood we are consecrated to share in each liturgical
gathering. This is just one of the wonder-full, mystery participation gifts
that we are gifted with by our Baptism, but is either taken for granted or just
ignored. As a result our participation in the liturgy is life-less, or
nonexistent.
If The Mystery within our depths does not connect with the presence of The
Mystery hidden and revealed in each celebration is there a reason? I wonder. Is it because we do not see our everyday
life connected with our liturgical life? Do we see in each and every moment
fodder for our next Eucharistic celebration? Each moment we live, we are
encountering The Paschal Mystery we have been baptized into, but we do not
consciously name the deep, hidden, reality of the moment. In each Eucharistic
celebration as we proclaim, The Mystery of Faith, we are proclaiming publicly
what has been so often a private experience. That is why our preparation for
each coming celebration begins as we walk out the door of the place we have
just worshipped in. All of our life experiences, no matter how "ordinary"
they are, go into the new creation of who we are. This "new creation"
will be brought, through a response to grace, to celebrate the newness of its
creation. In the Sacred Meal celebration. there is a deepening, a solidifying
of the relationship between Creator and creation. Liturgy celebration and the
life we lead, then are one. The same Christ is present, and encountered in
both. What a gift this liturgical year is. It gives us 365 days, 8,765.812 hours,
and 31,556,926 seconds, so we can choose in what timeframe we choose to delve
into The Mystery, to find that which will give an ever deepening meaning to the
life we live. In this way we will not have "liturgy without soul."
Our every moment soul journey will be an unending source of light, life, and love
to be celebrated in The Liturgical celebration. Which leads to what.....???